History -- Fact or Fiction?

As a strong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have understood and had faith my entire life. As taught to me since birth, faith is hope in things unseen which are true. Those outside of religion, atheists and scientists, believe in proof instead of faith. However, a short story I read today by Isaac Asimov got me thinking: can scientists really trust this "proof?" What if God just put all of their proof here on purpose? What if He created the world as already being 15 billion years old? What if He put the fossils here when He made it? (I'm not saying I believe this -- I believe something different about the Creation) The scientists really just have faith in their "proof" instead of in God. They don't know that the dinosaurs existed. For that matter, no one knows that anything before their own time even happened. It's all a matter of faith, whether it be faith in God, faith in fossils, or faith in man. In this day and age, anything can be fabricated. The entire history of the world could be fake, and we would all be none the wiser.
I'm not inclined to believe things; I'm a doubter. I've sometimes wondered if I'm the only real sentient being ever to exist, or if everyone else is in on a big joke or scheme and I'm the only one that doesn't know what's really going on. My childhood memories are spotty at best, and I sometimes doubt they even happened. I rely on others to tell me that they did. I don't even trust my own memory beyond a few years. However, I do know one thing: God lives. He loves me, and He loves you. I know that my Church is true. It is a great source of joy in my life. I know that Thomas S. Monson is God's prophet on the Earth today. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He loves us, and if we come unto Him, we can and will be saved. I love this beautiful world He has created for us. I have faith in God, in history, and in humanity.

Peace

I've been pretty happy with life over the past few months. I used to get into funks sometimes, but I'd managed to avoid them so far this semester until this past Sunday. It's not that it was a bad day or anything, I just was melancholy for whatever reason. There are a few things that can help me feel better, like playing video games with friends, singing, or going for a walk. Since I was unable to do the first two, I went for a walk. It was around 9:30, and it was freezing. My mind was just full of things that were making me unhappy at the time, so I wandered around the stadium, thoughts aimlessly streaming through my head. I sat down for a while outside the stadium trying to get my thoughts straight, but it didn't really help. Disappointed with my failure to calm my thoughts, I started home. As I reached the road by the stadium, I glimpsed the temple, shining as a beacon of hope in the night. New strength came to me as I started up the hill towards the temple. Somehow, I reached the top without fatigue, then dashed across the street. Serenity came over me as I reached the temple. There were a few cars in the parking lot, so I decided not to really linger, but just being there for a few minutes was all it took: my mind cleared and I finally felt peaceful and happy. As I walked home, I could feel God's love, and I just didn't feel so alone anymore. It was just a great experience. :)

Olympics 2010 - Vancouver

So tonight was the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. The day had a slight pall over it because of today's tragedy during a luge practice: a member of the country of Georgia's luge team flew off the track into a steel support and died. This is only the third person to have ever died in modern Olympic history. It's a sad way to begin this Olympics...my heart goes out to his family and teammates. However, despite this tragedy, the opening ceremonies went on pretty much as planned.
I love the Olympics. It always has an air of excitement about it, of the world's best athletes coming together to compete over a two week period in an atmosphere of PEACE! Even North Korea and Iran have athletes competing in this incredible biannual, international cooperative event. Iran even has a woman competing - she got to carry their flag! The Olympics is truly a beautiful thing, showing the beauties of the host country and the beauties of the strength and dexterity of the human body. Hopes and dreams will be accomplished and dashed over these next few weeks. Being there is an incredible experience, I'm sure. Those participating get to "fraternize with the enemy," and get to know those of other nations more than they could any other way. Two weeks of peace...incredible.
Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to be from a country that isn't...well...the US. We win all the time! We have 316 athletes competing; many countries only have one. Something like 32 of the 38 countries competing have never even won a medal at the winter Olympics. Unlike in the Summer Olympics, we may not always get the most medals at these Olympics (I think something like Sweden usually does...unsurprisingly), but we come in second in that respect. What would it be like to not have anyone to root for? Or for my country's only athlete to not even have a chance at a medal? What they must think about us Americans...but I'm proud to be an American! This is the land of opportunity, after all. We have the population and the means to have all of these medalists in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. My roommate was wondering why India, the largest country, population-wise, in the world had only a handful of athletes. We have what they're lacking: money. We have the means to become whatever we want to be. Aren't we lucky? We can have people like the flying tomato and Apollo Anton Ono. We can do anything!

Go Team USA!

Age

Yesterday I turned 20. It is the weirdest thing in the world. Have I really left my teenage years forever? My memory is so patchy I don't feel like I've been alive for two entire decades. But at the same time...For pretty much anything else in this world that's been around for 20 years, with the exception of God's wonderful natural creation, being that old means it's getting time to die, or to be thrown out, or destroyed to make way for the new. This seems to be especially true in this world where technology is constantly changing, where anything over a year old is ancient. Computers that are twenty years old are antiques. And yet, my built-in super-processor is at its prime, just finished growing. Everything about me is at my prime...supposedly. The world is at my feet. And what am I doing with it? Not much. To quote Emily's little brother, I'm "an old lady, with no money, and no boyfriend." Story. Of. My. Life. Luckily, Emily will join in my old age on Sunday. Then we can old maids together. Haha...life will be good. Life is good! I love life.

Random Happenstances

I have a story to tell.

Once upon a time, I was in my Tuesday night class, Psychology of Performance. Halfway through class (it's a two hour class), my professor said that he was dismissing the class for twenty minutes. We were to go perform for three random people in this time (I did not hear the part about three people, so I only performed for one person). When leaving the classroom, I decided to wander over to the Cougareat in the Wilk, and just serenade some poor unsuspecting soul eating his dinner. As I entered the Cougareat, I looked around for someone to sing to. A nice-looking boy smiled at me, so I walked over to him and explained my assignment. For some reason, I had decided to sing "I Am a Child of God" instead of messing around, so I had a rather large group of people staring at me by the time I finally finished. The boy complimented me, introduced himself, and told me he'd like to run into me again. Well, it was about time for me to be getting back to class. I said goodbye, and walked back to the HFAC, wondering if anything would ever come out of that random meeting.
A few days later, I decided to look him up on facebook, just to see if I could find him. There he was, the first result. I don't know what possessed me to click the button, but I added him as a friend. Nothing really happened for a few days, he accepted, and life went on. A little while later, I figured that I should probably tell him who I was, in case he didn't remember. I don't know if he remembered, but he replied and again said that he'd like to meet me again. One thing led to another, and this Tuesday at 2, I'm meeting him for lunch.

The end.

or is it the beginning?

I wouldn't have a problem with this, except for two things: I like someone else, and my mother and sister are trying to get me to move on and like the guy in the aforesaid story. Which makes me angry, since they are judging he who I already like without even knowing him. I should never have told them the story. Or anything. However, life goes on.
Life is good.
And happiness comes to those who wait...and read their scriptures and pray.

I want one.

Wanna know a secret?

For the first time in my life, I want an Apple product.

I really, really want an ipad.

judge me.

2009 --- 2010

It's a new year. It's almost the end of the first month of the new year. The second decade of the 21st century is finally here. I'll be 20 in exactly two weeks. And what's going on in my life? Pretty much the same thing as a year ago. However, I am infinitely happier. Isn't it weird how little things can change everything? I read my scriptures every day, I pray often, I wake up and decide to be happy. When I look back at my days and weeks since the year began, I see the happiest three weeks of my life. I have plenty to keep me down, like the fact that my grades were terrible this last year so I have to work really hard this semester, or my enduring "single" status. No, I find joy in my wonderful classes like math and psychology of performance, which challenges me every week. I had to go perform for a random person, so I sang "I Am a Child of God" for a random guy in the Cougareat. It was a good experience. This year has been good. One thing could make it better, but it's not looking like it's going to happen, so I'll live.
I guess I should evaluate 2009. And the decade. I'll start with the decade.
When this decade, century, and millennium began, I was 9 years old. I turned 10 two months later in Austin, Texas. I moved...five times this decade. Henderson, Eppstein, Marietta, Parker, Provo. I finished elementary school, middle school, and high school, and my first 60 credits of college. I fell in love, broke some hearts, then had my own broken. Moved right before my senior year. Learned and grew more than I will in any future decade. Made many, many mistakes, but learned a lot from them. I discovered who I was, and this decade, I'm working on improving and applying what I learned.
2009 was a terrible year. It was. I started with vomit, and ended alone. Again. I slacked in school, I made lots of bad decisions. Basically...the worst year ever. However, I'm not letting that ruin my new year. This year is going to be great. All I want to be is a better person, and to focus on others more than on myself. Love is what matters.

A year ago, I wrote about what I learned my first semester at BYU. It's my first blog entry. I'll comment briefly on how I've applied what I've learned...

1. Well, I learned that I had some health issues that caused my nausea...so yeah. I learned from that.
2. I'm still not taking classes very early. 12:00, every day. I do get up around 8 or 9 every day though.
3. Last semester, I still didn't do my homework. I do it this semester though. I'm trying to work hard.
4. As for studying...I've tried. I'm just so bad at it...
5. Dating at BYU? I went out with someone a couple times last winter semester, and went on a precious few dates last semester. No one's really asked me out though. None of my roommates really date. Darn BYU.
6. Professors...they do care. I need to care.
7. The depressing thing is again related to my health issues. I hope I've been better about that.
8. DVD region thing isn't a big deal. I've just been getting my german movies in english.
9. Money...I've been trying to be better about that. A lack of a job is making it difficult though...
10. Making friends. I try. I'm just not very good at it.

Life goes on. Grow and learn.